Awesome!

[conuly]

A whole bunch of books by H. M. Hoover have been put up on Kindle! You know, she's really an unsung classic of middle grade fiction. Some of the plots are a bit thin compared to what we expect from MG SF today, but others are still unique and startling.

***************

When Did Humans Become a Burrowing Species?

A surprisingly simple technology is helping these blind Eagle Scouts — and hundreds like them — ‘see’ through other people’s eyes

Paraplegic rats walk and regain feeling after stem cell treatment

Switching jobs: When people move to different jobs, here's where they go.

The Indiana Amish Are Blessed With a Genetic Fountain of Youth

Why the Movies Are So Obsessed With Capes

True Kilts: Debunking the Myths About Highlanders and Clan Tartans

IBM urged to avoid working on 'extreme vetting' of U.S. immigrants

Star Trek: Discovery Continues Science Fiction’s Role in Discussing Male Sexual Assault

Algae plague raises doubts about voluntary runoff prevention

In Chinese Cities, Migrants' Work Is Welcome. Their Children Are Not

Indonesia's Orang Rimba: Forced to renounce their faith

What DNA Says About the Extinction of America’s Most Common Bird

Teenage depression linked to father's depression

Student sues university for ADA violations over service dog in sorority house

Black men sentenced to more time for committing the exact same crime as a white person, study finds

Poll: Native Americans See Far More Discrimination In Areas Where They Are A Majority

Minority students' disabilities less likely to be identified in U.S. schools

Walking While Black (Be sure to take the quiz. I find most people have no idea what the law in their area actually says regarding what is and isn't legal when crossing the street, but the laws stated here are typical.)

Federal law enforcement has a woman problem

China, Philippines agree to avoid force in South China Sea dispute

Doing nothing, Trump may witness US goal in Mugabe's ouster

Robert Mugabe's Inner Circle Implodes

When a 'bloodless correction' smells like a coup

Immigrant workers in U.S. have tripled risk for heat-related death

10 gun violence prevention victories since Sandy Hook

One illegal gun. 12 weeks. A dozen criminal acts. The rapid cycle of gun violence.

OSCE watchdog slams Unites States, Russia for "foreign agent" media laws

Big Vape is copying Big Tobacco’s playbook

UN pleads for end of Yemen blockade or 'untold thousands' will die

Comments

[chelseagirl]

I loved her Children of Morrow growing up. My aunt worked for Scholastic/Four Winds and gave me a copy and it was one of those books I read and reread.

[raino]

I'm somewhat embarrassed I clicked on the article about capes in movies first, but I did anyway. Because capes are awesome. And if short, not at all impractical! I have one I made myself of teal/white tweed with a matching skirt, it's a belted version and it's very practical. I can wear as many big cardigans under it as necessary, whereas coat sleeves limit the number of mid-layers.

[conuly]

It was an interesting article! Trust me, there's a reason I put the more serious stuff at the bottom.

Short capes don't swirl quite as dramatically, though.

[raino]

What they lack in swirl drama, they make up in pep and chic!

[applenym]

Oh, I loved H. M. Hoover when I was a kid! I read everything of hers I could find in the library. As an adult, I've started looking for some of the books I remember the best from childhood, and I found my two favorites of hers and bought them: The Rains of Eridan and The Delikon. I almost never see her books in libraries or used bookstores now, so I'm really happy they're coming out for Kindle.

[conuly]

I know of at least three different boutique publishers who simply buy up the rights to out-of-print books (usually books they enjoyed as kids, it seems!) and republish them as kindle or print-on-demand. One of them's doing the Hoover books. Another one covered the Amy and Laura books and the All-of-a-Kind Family series, and I think there's a third that did the Plant That Ate Dirty Socks books. You have no idea how excited I am by this trend, but I don't know how to request any specific book of any one of them!

[applenym]

I didn't know publishers were doing that! That is SO GREAT. I can think of at least five authors I'd request right now. Anyone want to make Wilanne Schneider Belden's books into epubs for me? Or maybe Monica Hughes?

[conuly]

None of Hughes' books are on Kindle? That's really shocking.

SF as Propaganda or Lo, the Semantic Bias!

[nodrog]

“Star Trek: Discovery Continues Science Fiction’s Role in Discussing Male Sexual Assault”

Who says SF has such an appointed “role” in promulgating Correct Thought?  Who decided this?  Not the fans, certainly - and they're making that known.  “‘Bye…”

[conuly]

You must know different fans than I do.

(Also, I don't think talking about real world issues is propaganda. That's a really funny way of framing things.)

[nodrog]

Oh, “real world issues.”  You mean climate change?  Peak oil?  Overpopulation?  The rise of paramilitary police?  The fear of AI systems (‘Skynet Syndrome’)?

No.  You mean heterophobic male-bashing.  It's certainly trendy enough!  [Thank you for the link to the article on school times.  Right next to it, “Sponsored Content:  How Victorian Women Were Oppressed Through the Use of Psychiatry”.  Isn't that cute?]

The choice of which “issue” to “discuss” says all that needs to be said about the motives of the choosers.  I grow weary of the constant drumbeat of man-hating that pounds unceasingly through the Hollyork infotainment cartels and the mass-media culture they shape and feed.  Perceptive women are already seeing that this is a Pyrrhic victory that is going to leave them much the worse off; hatred is never constructive.


        A new book claims that male office workers are now so afraid of being on the receiving end of a
        sexual harassment case, they are reluctant to mentor, assist, befriend and even hold open doors for
        female colleagues.

        Crushingly, Sex & The Office suggests men now view such ordinary, decent behaviours as “too risky” –
        and, in what will be a bitter irony for equality campaigners – claims that, as a direct consequence,
        women are now failing to advance at work…

        The book’s author, Kim Elsesser, a research scholar at the University of California, argues that a
        “sex partition” has sprung up, which impedes women from building the vital network of contacts both
        within the workplace and socially.

        And the author should know about tough working environments: she’s a former equities trader at Morgan
        Stanley.

        Tellingly, Elsesser adds that companies themselves are contributing to this mess, as they are now so
        terrified of legal action they send staff on sexual harassment training courses, and are duty-bound
        to follow up on any allegation, however minor.

        Ludicrously, Elsesser cites examples of men who have been dragged in by their HR departments for
        simply opening a door for a female colleague or complimenting her on a new suit. “Stories like these
        spread around workplaces, instilling a fear that innocent remarks will be misinterpreted,” she says…


I don't think we should wait up to see this mentioned in any such utterly one-sided “discussion” as modern SF is now expected to parrot by the numbers.

Not in English, anyway.  Russian science fiction is getting better all the time.

[conuly]

So you think talking about female-on-male rape is "heterophobic male-bashing"? That's such a bizarre view that I actually don't intend to reply to it.

How Victorian Women Were Oppressed Through the Use of Psychiatry”. Isn't that cute?

Aren't you dismissive? Why don't you read the article, and then you'll know if it's accurate or not. You may learn something.

Oops

[nodrog]

I do sincerely apologize.  Total egg-on-face:  I am forced to confess that I took the headline at face value and did not click it to see that the article was talking about the exact opposite instead.

So as the saying goes, “Your argument is invalid!”

Never mind.

Re: Oops

[conuly]

Well, I'd be annoyed, but I know I've done the same thing, so I'll just be over here pretending I haven't.

Y' know…

[nodrog]

I’m too good a scientist to ignore data that conflict with my pre-conceptions.  I won’t go so far as to say I’m wrong about that show, BUT clearly I don’t know enough to express a competent opinion, so until I DO know what I'm talking about, I'll hush.

Re: Y' know…

[conuly]

Well.

It's definitely not the greatest Trek out there. Or even the second greatest And it's made a lot of flubs. But none of them are because of the progressive politics. (If they were more progressive, they'd stop killing off their named female characters omg.)

(Wait, hope I'm replying to the right comment here. Oddly, despite the fact that I can be amazingly confrontational, I hate conflict, so I just sorta skimmed my recent comments.)

‘STD’ is an unfortunate acronym here.

[nodrog]

You must know different fans than I do

I'm sure of it - and that's a fascinating subject in itself.  The article I linked to earlier speaks of it; there is a tremendous and widening divide between those who believe that science fiction is “a bully pulpit” through which to promulgate “social engineering,” advancing what ‘ex-communist and onetime feminist icon’ Doris Lessing called “a kind of mildew blighting the whole world” - that is, Politically Correct Thought, versus those who believe that entertainment's purpose is entertainment:  “If you gotta message, tweet it,” to update Moss Hart.

I had commented a while back, “What if they made a Star Trek series and nobody cared?” for that's how it seemed.  I had attributed it to “peak media,” the idea that there is now so much of everything that save for sex or spectacle no one thing stands out any more; actors and productions (and books) that would have rocked fifty years ago pass unnoticed today.

Now I'm not so sure.  The only people here or on LiveJournal whom I ever see mention Star Trek: Discovery are those whose politics are thoroughly left of center.  Yet the critical reviews of Season 1 were quite favorable overall; few were those who damned it with faint praise (“There are reasons to hope that Discovery will be a promising addition to the Trek canon” - Variety) and Sonequa Martin-Green is obviously a talented actress and is shining here - yet co-creator Bryan Fuller is so grindingly PC that he makes Brannon Braga seem acceptable by comparison, and somehow…

Somehow, beyond the choir he's preaching to, its impact has been negligible. Meanwhile, fan productions of the real Star Trek are everywhere, and many of them are as good or far better than the franchise entries themselves!



“Prelude to Axanar”

https://youtu.be/1W1_8IV8uhA?t=21s

[Seriously, watch that.  Wow.]


Comments like


        I keep trying to defend Discovery because I kinda like it. My issue is
        it's not Star Trek. It's just not, at all Star Trek. If you look at it as
        not Star Trek though, then it's actually not bad.


are what I was saying about Star Trek: Enterprise - “It's a rip-off of the franchise,” I said, “stealing intellectual property bare-faced”

and Dave Cullen's analysis

        https://youtu.be/Qo_A3vXHmVM


points it out as well:  Whatever that Discovery is, it's not Star Trek and doesn't really want to be.

I certainly don't intend to watch it, especially if I must pay for the dubious privilege!


- Happy Saturday.

Re: ‘STD’ is an unfortunate acronym here.

[conuly]

those who believe that entertainment's purpose is entertainment:

Any fiction more complex than "pat the bunny" has a message. If you don't see the message, then you're already steeped in it.

(Especially Star Trek. LOL. That show was explicitly made to show the success of the liberal socialist future. Have you watched TOS? Or TNG?)

Re: An unfortunate acronym here.

[nodrog]

Have you watched TOS? Or TNG?

Um…  Yes.  When both originally aired.  I'm an old-school Trekkie from way back.  I even have Bjo Trimble's Star Trek Concordance, purchased at the time.


Assignment: UNIT

Please look at that - I'd like your opinion.


Best Of Remastered Star Trek HD

If you haven't seen this, oh my.


And here

https://youtu.be/b056Enh1oCE?t=26s

is something you don't see every day.  I wonder if this would be useful for production SFX?


And finally:


        THIS AIN’T STAR TREK XXX was made by a batch of pornsters who wear their
        love of old school STAR TREK on their sleeves (especially screenwriter
        “Roger Krypton”) and while it’s technically a parody, it’s played totally
        straight and is therefore quite funny when the humping isn’t in progress
        (and, if truth be told, sometimes even when it is). In fact, other than
        featuring different actors and some seriously hardcore sex, this DVD has
        the look and feel of old school STAR TREK down pat, with the sets, costumes
        and sound effects being as on the money as the budget would allow (it looks
        only slightly cheaper than TOS).

        Bottom line, THIS AIN'T STAR TREK XXX is way more fun than it has any right
        to be…

Re: An unfortunate acronym here.

[conuly]

I am working at 50% today. I'll check out the links later. If I don't reply by next week, poke me.

Re: An unfortunate acronym here.

[nodrog]

It's not really important.  They'll keep.

[peristaltor]

A note on the passenger pigeon article. According to Charles Mann in his book 1493, pre-Columbus these birds didn't exist in superflocks at all. Native middens have been examined; there are maybe a few PP remains found, not the super-abundance one would expect.

Mann cites scientists who note that PPs were mast eaters (masts being tree seeds, like walnuts and acorns). Native tribes in the Northeast casually tended mast trees in food forests; they didn't look organized to the Western settlers because they weren't organized in rows, but tended they were.

So when the influenza and red blankets and other unknown diseases did their damage, the passenger pigeons feasted without being hunted, perhaps for the first time in their history. (Bison enjoyed the same explosion for the same reason.)

Unlike the bison, though, Europeans cleared the hell out of the forests, leaving croplands. So the pp was never able to settle down to its former numbers (and the hunting didn't help).

Mann's books (at least 1491 and 1493) are fun.

[nodrog]

I wonder about the bison, tho’.  A scattering of stone-spear-wielding tribesmen on foot would not be enough of a check on their numbers to make any significant difference, even with their charming habit of stampeding them off cliffs to die of broken legs after the tribesmen killed the two or three they wanted. [“Conquest of Paradise”-style historical revisionists make me tired.  These were not ‘Sensitive New Age Guys’ living in mystical harmony with the land, they were human-sacrificing, slash-and-burn agricultural hunters and warriors whose chief pastime was killing each other in very unpleasant ways.  There simply weren't enough of them to do any real damage, is all.]

Later, squadrons of horsemen with buffalo rifles did serious work, but that was later.  What ‘Buffalo Bill’ et cie encountered was normal, I'd think, or - like deer today, whose only remaining ‘predator’ is automobiles - they'd be an overpopulated diseased starving mess, and that's not the impression one gets from the historical accounts.